


Secret Santa Frodo Story

by adeclanfan



Category: The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-07 19:46:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5468705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adeclanfan/pseuds/adeclanfan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Fellowship spends their first night in the woods and Frodo wonders what the new year holds for them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Secret Santa Frodo Story

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KayleeArafinwiel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KayleeArafinwiel/gifts).



December 25th, 3018 - The Fellowship Departs from Rivendell at dawn.

 

Frodo scanned the faces gathered around the fire, some he knew as well as his own, and others brand new to him. 

It was the first night of their Fellowship, and the sun had only just set on the first of what was sure to be many, many days of setting up a camp in the woods, warming themselves by a fire and sleeping on hard, cold ground.

Merry and Pippin were suspiciously quiet and subdued this evening, very much not themselves, and Frodo felt a pang of guilt for taking his dear friends so far from their homes and loved ones. 

Everything was unfamiliar and a small part of him wondered where this adventure would lead them and if they would ever see their homes, again.

"Master Frodo," the Ranger called Aragorn spoke, his voice soft and low around the pipe he was smoking. "Did you know Lord Elrond and his Elves are holding a feast in Rivendell tonight? Dancing and singing and at least one feast is all part of the traditional Elvish celebration of the Winter solstice. What do your people do to celebrate the longest night of the year? I know little of Hobbits, save that they almost never venture off their lands, and when they do their curiosity gets them into trouble."

Frodo was a bit surprised the normally reserved Man would ask him a personal question, but he had a sneaking suspicion the Ranger could read his thoughts and knew he had begun fretting about his friends and Bilbo and the dire nature of their quest. The question was likely an attempt to stop him from sinking too deeply into such dark thoughts.

"Sam is the only one who calls me 'Master Frodo' and I've tried for ages to get him to stop. Please. I'd rather just be called Frodo," the black haired young Hobbit told him.

The corner of Aragorn's mouth twitched up, as did Gandalf's, and it was likely that was as near as the Man got to a grin full of teeth. The stoic Ranger lowered his head once, a nod of respect. "As you wish. Frodo."

Frodo didn't hold back his smile of relief. "Thank you. For many years, before Bilbo left for Rivendell, we would make a special meal to share for the Yule. I suppose it would be much like a Elvish feast, but with less salad and more pastries and sweetmeats. We would sit together and talk while the yule log burned in the hearth, and he would tell me of his adventures in Rivendell, or on his journey with the Dwarves to Erebor." He looked to the company's lone Dwarf, Gimli, and received a nod of acknowledgement and encouragement from the bright red bearded warrior. "As I grew older, Bilbo added more details to the tales I heard many times before. The dragon, Smaug, must have been absolutely terrifying, and I cannot imagine what it would have been like to be standing in the middle of a battlefield while a battle waged between Dwarves, Men and Elves."

Aragorn nodded, and sent a strange look in the direction of the Fellowship's Elven representative: tall, silver-haired Legolas. "What say you, Legolas, your father was at the Battle of the Five Armies, was he not?" There was something teasing in the way the Man said it, and his smirk earned a narrow-eyed glare from the Elf. "Were you at the battle, mellon?"

"Only the end of it," Legolas confessed. "I was... Scouting and discovered another force of Orcs marching on the mountain from another direction." He deftly changed the subject, adding to the conversation, "My people will also be holding the first of two feasts tonight to honor the solstice, though I think you would find our tastes are very different from what the Eldar will be eating in Rivendell. We serve less greens and fish, and consume more meats in our diet in the Woodlands. Venison, rabbit and quail are all quite common for our menu. And if you were to sample our wine, you would probably find it far too strong for your palette. We are hunters and gatherers primarily, far less are farmers. Our lands grow very cold in the winter, and the snows are deep for months at a time, often until Spring comes to melt them away. "

"Will we be traveling through your lands on our journey?" Sam asked, eyes bright with excitement. 

Pippin was quick to nod his approval, "I've always had a fondness for rabbit, especially when it's stewed in ale for several hours with carrots and potatoes."

The Elf and the Man shared a look, and then both sets of eyes turned to Gandalf, but it was Legolas who said, "The Elvenking is not fond of unexpected visitors."

Gimli snorted. "Aye, but that is the honest truth. I've heard more than my share of accounts of what the inside of the Elvenking's dungeons look like from my kin who made that journey."

Legolas winced, and again hurried to redirect the conversation, "If we stay to the other side of the river Anduin, we will be in the lands of the Lorien Eldar. They are our cousins from the Golden Woods."

Aragorn earned another glare from Legolas when he added, "Legolas knows the Elvenking all too well, Thranduil is his father."

The statement brought a collective gasp from the four Hobbits. 

Merry gaped at him, only closing his open mouth to ask, "Your father is a King?!"

"King of the Woodland Realm," Legolas admitted.

"So that makes you a Prince, doesn't it?" Sam asked.

Legolas wrinkled his nose, just a little. "I am King Thranduil's only son, and his... heir." 

It didn't sound to Frodo like Legolas was particularly happy about those facts, and his hunch was confirmed when the Elf Prince added, "My father and I disagree on many things, as Aragorn well knows."

Frodo was relieved when his friends didn't ask Legolas more about the Elvenking, but instead Sam said, "If I were back home, I'd be at the Yule dance in the pub, with most folks from town. We have a bonfire and hayride, too."

"That's just because Rosie Cotton will be there," Pippin said, teasing him. "Everyone knows he's been sweet on her for years."

"I have not!" Sam pouted. "She's nice, is all."

Frodo noticed Legolas was still shooting arrows at Aragorn with his eyes, and so he took a page from Aragorn's book, and asked him a question to distract him, "Aragorn has a sweetheart in Rivendell, do you have a special someone back home in the Woodlands?"

It was obviously the wrong question to ask, because Legolas went from angry to sad in the blink of an eye. "I do not," the Elf said, quietly. "It is not easy for a Prince to find a wife. My father has a reputation for scaring them off. It is why I prefer people not know my true identity." This last statement Legolas directed at Aragorn.

The Man actually gave a full smile and patted his arm hard, just once, and it looked like it hurt. "I am paying you back for announcing my identity to everyone at Lord Elrond's Council. After all, fair is fair, mellon."

"What does that word mean? You have called him 'melon' twice," Merry asked.

The Man and the Elf both burst into laughter at his misinterpretation of the Elvish word, and they were laughing so hard it was Gandalf who answered for them, "Not 'melon', Merry, the Elvish word is 'mellon'."

"Oh."

"It's a term of affection between friends. Despite their gruffness tonight, Aragorn and Legolas are fast friends, just as you are with Pippin and Frodo. The word implies a deeply rooted friendship bond." 

"Oh."

The laughter changed the mood of the group and Frodo felt himself growing more comfortable with the strangers. "The Lady Arwen is very beautiful, but she seemed upset when we left. Is she angry with you for joining the Fellowship?" he asked Aragorn.

The Man shook his head, "No, Frodo, Arwen encouraged me to offer my sword in your defense, because it is the right thing to do. And I encouraged her to join with the Eldar who traveling to the Grey Havens to board ships to the Undying Lands."

"You didn't?" Legolas hissed, his eyes widening in horrified shock. His dark brows drew together as frowned. "No wonder she is angry with you," the Elf pronounced.

Aragorn winced, shrugging his shoulders uncomfortably. "Better to have her alive, and angry with me, than any of the other alternatives."

Legolas gave his friend a sympathetic smile. "May it be the will of Eru Iluvatar for us to all be together, Arwen included, remembering this first day of our journey fondly next year around a fire and enjoying Lord Elrond's choice of menu and a barrel of my father's finest Dorwinion." 

Aragorn nodded, "From your lips to Iluvatar's ears." 

Legolas' wish was a good one, and one Frodo would not forget even when times got tough and his back ached from sleeping on rocks.


End file.
